


He was Tiny in Death

by OverlyCheerfulRat



Category: The Witcher (TV), Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Character Death, Gen, Unhappy Ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-25
Updated: 2020-02-25
Packaged: 2021-02-28 07:06:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22889677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OverlyCheerfulRat/pseuds/OverlyCheerfulRat
Summary: They say a young bard died in the woods.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 39





	He was Tiny in Death

You brought him here.

As Geralt held Jaskier's deceptively warm corpse, he thought back to where exactly he went wrong. He shouldn't have let the bard follow him, should have demanded he go back to the pub. Young, excitable bards had no place hunting monsters- or fighting elves. Geralt didn't notice his wounds from the elf fight until it was too late, until they had begun to fester.

He had no antidote, could do nothing but watch as the bard sickened and died in less than a day. He learned more about him than he'd wanted to- as the pain grew, he told Jaskier to talk, tell stories to distract himself. 

The bard was only eight and ten, barely more than a boy. He had been born a noble. He just wanted to write poetry, sing, play the lute. "I bought it myself," he'd said hoarsely. "I earned the coin, it wasn't from my parents, it was the first thing I did on my own."

He sobbed, whimpered, faced death like the child he still was. At the very end, he looked around wildly for someone who wasn't there, weakly crying out for his father. When he grasped Geralt's shirt, the witcher took his hand and met his teary blue eyes. "Papa," the boy gasped out, chest heaving.

Geralt picked him up, smelling his fear, knowing he was more dead than alive, and mumbled, "I'm here." The bard relaxed, if only slightly, and whispered something unintelligible before going limp in the witcher's arms. 

They say you can hear singing in the woods, sometimes. They say a young bard died there, was buried by a witcher he barely knew. They say he wanted adventure, romance, to be known. They say he was happy and eager and unheeding of danger. 

They say the witcher travels alone.

**Author's Note:**

> did you know you can die of sepsis in as little as 12 hours


End file.
